The Mercer County Ice Center is a semi-outdoor (it’s in a barn-ish structure) rink that offers five hour skating windows for $10.  My lab monkey cohorts and I went there today over a long lunch break.

Joe had skated a few times prior and is generally good at things.  Everett had a lot of experience with roller hockey and was able to go quite fast but lacked a certain grace in stopping.  He’s a ginger and wore a pea coat with his brown trousers and looked like an English school boy on holiday as he’d dash at some ridiculous speed during a straight section and then arc into the rink wall.  Finally, Carl was the pro of the group having a decade of hockey experience under him.  He was wobbly at first but quickly was literally skating circles around me.

I ass-planted once, on the exact same spot I had ass-planted before and I took a moment to let the ice numb the area before rising.  My back was wet.  I returned to the benches at the end of the session and had a message from my boss.

Him: Any injuries?
Me: Yes.
Him: Will you all be back to work this afternoon?
Me: Yes.
Him: Glad it went well then.